Sermon Central
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The Problem Of A Wicked Neighbour.
Contributed by Adeolu Akin-Abraham on May 11, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: Beware of evil neighbours and friends that lead people away into destruction.
The bible talks about the problem and danger of a wicked neighbour:
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.
Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
Who is a neighbour?
The neighbour is anybody who is around you.
The neighbour is anybody who is available to you.
The neighbour is anybody who is living near you.
The neighbour is anybody who is located near you.
The neighbour can be a friend or a relation.
When you break Neighbour into two: Nigh - near in place, time, or relationship
Boor - a member of a similar class elsewhere.
They are everybody who lives on earth!”
Christians are generally required by believers and non-believers to behave in a certain way.
They are expected to be flawless hence, people are usually quick to judge and condemn them.
The wicked also are equally active in condemning any retaliatory actions from Christians.
Since followers of Christ are supposed to return good for evil therefore, the wicked are reckless and wild in their attack of believers.
However, Jesus was specific when He addressed this issue with His disciples:
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
• A neighbour has seized to be a friend or relation the moment he starts devising harm or hurt against a person.
• Such has become a wicked neighbour that should be treated with caution.
• The Psalmist says this clearly, Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. (Psalm 28:3)
• Physical problems usually become spiritual problems.
• Once you fail to solve an issue physically, it eventually becomes an emotional and spiritual issue.
• According to a study of 2000 homebuyers carried out by Halifax Home Insurance in March 2010:
• Nearly one in ten people claim to have moved house because of poor relations with their neighbours,
• The people next door are a bigger influence on a decision to move house than schools.
Simply put the, the number of closed enemies (friends, relations, neighbours) that you have will determine your success or failure in life.
Wicked Neighbour?
1. The wicked neighbour is the personality or power that will not stop unless it kills and destroy.
2. The wicked neighbour is the sworn enemy that will rather die if unable to destroy a person.
3. The wicked neighbour is the power or personality that carefully monitors your life so as to terminate it. –
perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. 29 A violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good.
4. The wicked neighbour is the witchcraft powers on definite - clear-cut mission against people’s lives.
5. The wicked neighbour is the power or personality that is violently leading people away from good things.
6. The wicked neighbour is the friends that never show their true intentions – not trustworthy or sincere and take advantage of others with no remorse.
7. The wicked neighbour is the friends that are envious of your good fortune and success. They constantly wallow in bitterness and resentment.
8. The wicked neighbour is the friend who only thinks about himself/herself and fails to see or care about others’ problems.
9. The wicked neighbour is the friend that is quick to blame others, instead of being willing to learn and grow from their own foolish conduct.
Israel’s Olden Neighbours were the source of most of their problems:
Some were wicked neighbours while some were bad, some so-so and some were good.
Neighbours like the Ammonites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Hivites and Hittites were not very controversial. However, the Midianites would have succeeded in destroying the destiny of Joseph when he was sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.
The Moabites to a large extent were peaceful neighbours. In Judges 11:25-26 we read that Moab did not fight with Israel for 300 years while they were neighbours. However, King Balak of Moab was the evil King that hired Balaam to curse the children of Israel. We should, nonetheless, not forget the role that Ruth the Moabite played in the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Philistines is a typical example of a wicked neighbour. They were a well known enemy of Israel in the Old Testament times. The Philistines were a hostile people. Iron played a big part in their military might as they held domination in the manufacture of iron that gave them a big advantage over Israel at that time.
